I agree and disagree. Well, actually, disagree, disagree, and disagree. But hear me out.
One, I really don’t think that even a consistent 600 miles of range is really workable for an OTR truck. You’d have to leave fully charged before every shift, and shut down at a charging point at the end of every shift. That’s not how OTR works in many cases.
Two, for local and some regional applications, 350 miles of range is workable. Picking up loads to bring to the terminal, local LTL picks and drops, that works in most cases. And those are the customers the Tesla semi is aimed at (since they don’t offer a sleeper).
Three, the range on the Tesla semi prototypes has been in the 450 mile range. With the new cell configuration expected in the final version, 500 to 600 miles is generally expected. But, as I said, that’s insufficient for true OTR, so we’re just arguing about how many angels can dance on the head of a pin.
Tesla semi “on the track”
Discussion in 'Truckers News' started by Accidental Trucker, Mar 16, 2021.
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Doealex, D.Tibbitt and shooter19802003 Thank this.
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It's not the generating stations so much as the infrastructure. You have to be able to get that power to the places it is needed. Those trucks take a massive amount of power to recharge. This is no small undertaking. There isn't even close to the power needed or the way of transmission. That doesn't happen overnight. Especially now its the new crowd in Washington. good luck putting up any new power plants in the near future. Solar and wind aren't going to cut it either. -
Every single year they’ve had a range increase in all their vehicles. -
I really do believe that Tesla is building a virtual road system.
Tesla models communicating with each other when in close range, Starlink, Semis.
I really believe they will link up the vehicles soon enough where one person drives and others follow. -
Lets put it this way, i wouldnt bet against electric trucks on a 100 year timetable, but wouldnt bet for them in a 10 year timetable.
And in that time, there may be some development that makes the question academic.D.Tibbitt, Deadwood and shooter19802003 Thank this. -
There hasn't been anything close to that kind of improvement as far as batteries are concerned. Lithium Ion batteries were used when I got out of college in the mid 90's and they're still being used now. That's why I'm skeptical of the battery cult. Unlike computers, there's been no dramatic technological advancements in batteries.
Supposedly, Musk just created a new "tabless cell" - an engineering simplification that gives 5X more energy, and a 16% increase in range. What people rarely mention is the fact that the battery is dramatically larger. I'll believe that electric trucks can do 600 miles when I see them actually doing it instead of hearing about it in a Tesla press release.Doealex, Toomanybikes and shooter19802003 Thank this. -
Doealex, TheLoadOut and shooter19802003 Thank this.
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First phase of Level 3 Autonomous Semis will involve a driver, the second phase will be remote driver. Level 4 will have remote driver when needed.
With SpaceX Starlink service I’m willing to bet Tesla is going to jump ahead real soon. Either way it’s happening all we have to do is sit and watch.
SpaceX plans Starlink broadband for trucks, ships, and planes [Updated]
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